The American Lacrosse Conference is about to get a lot tougher.
After being hired two years ago, Amanda O'Leary will introduce her University of Florida women's lacrosse team to the ALC, which already boasts Ohio State, Penn State and five-time defending national champions Northwestern.
"It's the No. 1 conference in the country," O'Leary said. "The teams are the best of the best. Top to bottom, there's not a weak link."
The Gators host the Nittany Lions April 3 and finish their season at Evanston, Ill. O'Leary watched last year's ALC tournament at Jeffrey Field and said the conference is full of parity -- any team can win any game.
Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor expects Florida to be competitive from the beginning.
"Florida's gonna be a team that finds success very, very quickly," she said. "They started their program the right way, hiring a coach in advance to start recruiting."
Florida has 24 freshmen with a few upperclassmen who transferred from other schools or the school's club team, which placed fourth at nationals in 2009.
With the addition of Florida, the ALC now has six teams, earning it an automatic bid to the national championship tournament. The conference was selected before O'Leary arrived, but she is excited to be a part of it.
"It's a challenge each and every game," she said. "There's no break."
The coach is pleased with her team's progress throughout the fall, but she said it still has a long way to go.
"You like to think you're ready to hit the ground running, but you've got 24 freshmen," O'Leary said. "We'll make freshmen mistakes that teams like Penn State might not make."
The Royersford native spent the past 14 seasons at Yale, compiling a record of 162-65 with a .714 winning percentage, good for No. 7 and No. 5 among active coaches, respectively.
O'Leary led the Bulldogs to NCAA appearances in 2003 and 2007 before heading to Gainesville. Her hiring and new home are good signs for the sport, Isidor said.
"The state of Florida has a lot of high school lacrosse and grass roots programs growing," Isidor said. "For an SEC team to start lacrosse says a lot about the growth of the game."
Gainseville has started to catch lacrosse fever as nearly 500 people came to a fall scrimmage, despite little publicity, O'Leary said.
"The community is looking forward to a new sport," she said. "People in Gainesville like a lot of scoring, and they'll get that in lacrosse."
